Hmm, either sf is less dated by decade than fantasy or I'm not familiar enough with the genre to pinpoint the fashion the way that I can for, say, 80s sword and sorcery.
There is something timeless about this story; it touches on so many elements that preoccupy the SF world at the moment, albeit without the contemporary need for subversion. It works in this story, perhaps because it is also a retelling of a fairy tale, and thank you to Tor's space opera month list for suggesting it.